Barnett & Company Inc. Sells 660 Shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM)

Barnett & Company Inc. reduced its stake in Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 146,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 660 shares during the quarter. Unum Group accounts for 7.0% of Barnett & Company Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Barnett & Company Inc. owned 0.08% of Unum Group worth $10,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,497,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,496,939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,078 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,264,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,383,000 after acquiring an additional 392,191 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 151.7% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 509,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,297,000 after buying an additional 307,175 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Unum Group by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,462,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,837,000 after acquiring an additional 276,655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unum Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $19,617,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, CEO Richard P. Mckenney sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.99, for a total value of $4,099,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 980,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,402,427.63. This represents a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa G. Iglesias sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.75, for a total transaction of $579,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,588,751. This represents a 18.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Unum Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Unum Group from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Unum Group from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Unum Group from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unum Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.62.

Unum Group Price Performance

Shares of UNM stock opened at $81.54 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.74. Unum Group has a 12 month low of $48.38 and a 12 month high of $83.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $76.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Unum Group (NYSE:UNM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.14 by ($0.11). Unum Group had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 14.91%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Unum Group will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Unum Group announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, February 18th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Unum Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Unum Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.74%.

Unum Group Profile

Unum Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial protection benefit solutions primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and internationally. It operates through Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, and Closed Block segment. The company offers group long-term and short-term disability, group life, and accidental death and dismemberment products; supplemental and voluntary products, such as individual disability, voluntary benefits, and dental and vision products; and accident, sickness, disability, life, and cancer and critical illness products.